UN chief urges maritime nations to chart course for net zero shipping emissions by 2050

LONDON (AP) — The head of the United Nations called Monday for maritime nations to agree on a course for the shipping industry to reduce its climate-harming emissions to net zero by the middle of the century at the latest. The appeal by U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres came at the start of a meeting of the International Maritime Organization in London that’s seen as key for helping achieve the international goal of limiting global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius. Guterres noted that shipping accounts for almost 3% of global emissions and urged delegates to agree a new strategy includes interim targets for 2030. The IMO’s current target is for the shipping industry to cut its emissions by at least half from 2008 to 2050.